Profile America — Tuesday, October 26th. The chore of doing laundry has plagued households since recorded history. American ingenuity was brought to bear on the problem on this date in 1858, when Hamilton Smith patented a washing machine. But it was hand-driven and proved to be hard on both the operator and clothes. People continued to use the tub and washboard, even after the first electric washer came along in 1908. A few years later, the agitator-type machine appeared and gained immediate popularity. But people still had to feed clothes through a ringer by hand — an often dangerous job. Finally, in the late 1930s, the fully automatic washer went on sale. Today, close to eight-out-of-10 homes across the country have a washing machine. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources: 440 International Calendar of Events, Those Were the Days

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 953

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).